Proposal for European version of IMF

Updated: 15:46, Monday, 8 March 2010

The European Commission is set to float proposals to create a European version of the International Monetary Fund tomorrow.

1 of 1 Europe IMF-style body for EU
Europe
IMF-style body for EU

An official said the body could rescue debt-hit countries such as Greece.

Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn will 'inform' the full commission tomorrow of continuing talks on the issue, his spokesman said.

The plans will be centred on the 16 euro zone members, as the euro area has come under pressure as a result of the Greek budget crisis.

Mr Rehn's spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio gave a tentative deadline of the end of June for full details on how and by whom the new body would be funded.

The International Monetary Fund gives out emergency loans to countries with troubled finances but strict conditions are usually attached.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble is in the forefront of the moves to beef up the EU's economic toolkit, telling a German newspaper at the weekend that 'for the internal stability of the euro zone, we need an institution that has the experience and power of the IMF'.

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